UNMC News

The Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), based at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, has accredited its first cell transplant programs in Asia and South America. FACT accreditation demonstrates commitment to quality practices in cellular therapy and supports best outcomes for patients.

The recently accredited programs are at the National University Hospital Haematopoietic Progenitor Cell Transplant Program in Singapore and the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Both achieved accreditation for their bone marrow and peripheral stem cell transplants for adults and children.

“FACT accreditation certifies the quality of cellular therapy treatment and reflects a benchmark for the best and highest global standards of care for patients,” said UNMC professor of pathology and microbiology, Phyllis Warkentin, M.D., who serves as chief medical officer of FACT. “We are pleased that these programs have met the requirements and congratulate them on being the first in their regions to achieve this milestone.”

Based at UNMC, FACT is a non-profit organization that sets rigorous standards and inspects and accredits cell therapy programs worldwide. The programs include life-saving therapies that use adult stem cells, such as bone marrow transplants and peripheral blood transplants, as well as umbilical cord blood cells for patients with many blood cancers and diseases. The organization was established at UNMC in 1996.

Many major insurance providers demand that health care institutions have FACT accreditation. Accreditation by FACT is required for some donor registries used by physicians to identify and select matched donors.

While some patients can use their own cells, others rely on volunteer donors. Accreditation is important outside the United States since best-matched donors can be in a different part of the world. Availability of high-quality matched cells depends on international consensus and collaboration.

To date, FACT has accredited transplant programs in six different countries on four continents. FACT-accredited cord blood banks represent 17 countries on five continents.

UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center’s cellular transplant programs have been FACT-accredited since 2001.

Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.